Shadows and Lies
by Tiana Damisi
Summary: Arianna is one of the most beautiful, deadly, and skilled theives in Tortall, but she has a secret that separates her from every other thief. How long can she keep up her act?**Chapter 4 up!!!! Well I guess its chapter 5 if you count the prologue.**
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own don't own Tortall, or any of the characters, settings, ideas, etc. that appear in any books by Tamora Pierce. Tamora owns them all. 

Story: well read and find out. And please please please please review! I love you forever! I'm even beginning. As far as the rating goes, I'm saying PG-13 right now just to be safe. I'm not sure what its actually going to turn out to be… 

Arianna peered cautiously behind her shoulder to check if any one was following her. She ducked into a long dark ally and quickly pulled her hair out of the complicated up do it had been in. Her black curls cascaded down her back as she swung her head around to check for someone following her one last time. Arianna ripped of her elaborate ball gown to reveal a tight black leather tank top that laced completely up in front, a pair of black leather pants, and black leather calf high boots. She threw the dress away and peeked out of the ally to see if anyone was around. When she was satisfied that no one was around, she ran out and joined the flow of the crowd. She could only pray that she hadn't been seen.

Arianna made her way to the Dancing Dove, a popular hang out for most of the common folk of Tortall. She walked into the dimly lit and smoky pub and saw the vague outline in the back of the room of the man she was suppose to meet. She made her way to the back of the room, swatting away men's hands and ignoring rude and sexual comments aimed at her. She sat down at the table where the man was and ordered a drink from a passing barmaid. She smirked to herself, she had been a barmaid once, it hadn't provided enough excitement though. She hadn't been a barmaid for the money, she didn't need money, she had done it out of pure boredom. 

"Well?" inquired the man sitting at the table, interrupting Arianna's thoughts, "Have you got it?" Arianna looked up at the man in front of her. 

"You know," Arianna smiled mischeviously, "One day this is going to get me killed."

"You're choice, you're free to leave anytime. Did you get it?" The man seemed to be growing more impatient. Arianna nodded and pulled out a small black leather pouch. She slid it across the table to the man. Around them the sailors, drunks, and thieves were laughing and cheering on some idiot standing on top of a table singing at the top of his lungs. No one was watching the transaction going on at the small table in the back of the room, which was fine with Arianna. The fewer people that saw her there or played attention to her, the better. Her unusual beauty already attracted enough attention, though using her looks had gotten her out of more than one tight bind.

"I was unable to get one…" she said regretfully. The man nodded in understanding and waved his hand at her. He was already immersed in the silver and gold necklaces inlayed with rubies and sapphires. Arianna stood up and walked out of the Dancing Dove. As she made her way back to the palace she grinned at herself. 

"Stupid," she thought to herself as she reached down her tank top and pulled out a beautiful silver and sapphire necklace. She put it back down her tank top and made her way to the palace before anyone noticed her absence. 


	2. Foolish Games

**I'm not sure what kind of nobility Arianna is yet, or where she's from etc. I've decided this takes place either sometime between the Song of the Lioness series and Wild Magic or during the Wild Magic series, I'm not sure yet... anyone have any input on what time period I should set this story in?**

It had been fairly easy for Arianna to slip past the palace guards and up to her room. Perhaps a little too easy... Arianna gasped as the maid lacing up her corset gave a rather forceful tug. Arianna hated corsets, she hated dresses, she hated almost anything that didn't allow maximum movement. The maid gave her corset one final tug before knotting it briskly. 

"There you go, my lady." The maid said timidly, "Do you need any help putting on your dress?" Arianna looked at the dress and shook her head. It was a fairly simple dress made of royal blue velvet that complimented her blue eyes. It was fairly low cut and tight on top with a flowing skirt. Arianna slipped into the dress and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She had only pulled the top half of her hair back, leaving the rest of it hanging, and the simplicity of her hair complimented the simplicity of the gown. She knew that extremely elaborate and fancy gowns were in fashion, but simple gowns suited her just fine. Too many ruffles and too much lace made the dresses look ridiculous and the ladies wearing them look like over done poodles in Arianna's opinion. 

Arianna was beautiful, and she knew it too. She used her beauty to the best of her advantage. No one would suspect the "Unearthly beauty, Lady Arianna" of running around the street of Corus and associating with the thieves and drunks that hung around the Dancing Dove, she was "simply to perfect for that kind of behavior". Arianna had a number of men pursing her for marriage from the moment she entered court when she was sixteen. She led them on just enough to give them hope of a possible engagement, but not enough for them to feel comfortable enough to propose. It kept most of the young men out of her affairs, they were far too busy trying to win her attentions to be suspicious. 

Arianna took a deep breath, brushing back a strand of hair, that had some how fallen loose, behind her ear. She hated royal functions almost as much as she hated corsets and dresses, but she knew after her most recent robbery, she'd have to make an appearance and pretend to be appalled at the loss of Lady Morgan's jewels. In truth, they were far too easy to steel. 

"The lady was just asking for it," Arianna mumbled to herself as she left her room and walked down the hall. Arianna smiled at a guard as she passed him. The guard tripped over his own feet as he craned his head to watch her walk around a corner.

Arianna grinned, all the palace guards were the same: young, strong, stupid, and far to deprived of females. It was so simple to get near enough to them to knock them unconscious. She pushed open the side door to one of the smaller ballrooms and slipped in to join the crowd already gathered there. She didn't like to make a scene with a grand entrance. The less attention she brought to herself, the better, especially with the situation she was in. 

Jag, a young knight, spotted Arianna and waved at her to join the group of people surrounding him. Arianna weaved her way through the masses of people over to him and his group. She smiled at Jag as he made room in the group for her. Arianna didn't mind spending time with Jag, who was the heir to a small fief in southern Tortall. He was young, very handsome, and was one of the men who didn't go out of his way to pursue her. He made it clear he found her attractive, but he also admired her wit and intelligence, and he cherished his friendship with her. 

Arianna scanned the small group that was currently discussing politics. She was slightly startled when her eyes met a pair of mocking dark brown ones that were all too familiar. The eyes belonged to a handsome young man in his mid or late twenties who was staring right back at her. He seemed to be daring her to say something about his presence at the party. 

"Hmmm?" Arianna had been so intently staring at the stranger that she hadn't heard Jag's question. 

" I said," Jag repeated, rather annoyed, "Have you met Will yet?" Though Jag wasn't involved with Arianna in any way other than as friends, he still became jealous when she seemed to pay more attention to another man than to him. Arianna shook her head.

"No, I haven't, pleased to meet you..." she trailed off when she realized she didn't know what his title was, or rather what the title of the person he was pretending to be was. Arianna knew him as Bryant, but she wasn't sure if that was even his real name.

"Just Will," he said with a wink, "And the pleasure's all mine." He kissed the back of the hand Arianna held out to him, his eyes laughing at her the entire time. Arianna nodded instead of saying anything for fear she might say something without thinking. 

"We were just discussing the advantages of having such a wonderful monarch, especially in a time like this." Jag said, trying to draw Arianna's attention away from Bryant. She only nodded her head absently, still staring intently at Will and trading looks with him every once in a while. "Say, Will, we never did find out where you come from or what you do." In a failed attempt to distract Arianna, Jag was now trying to go to the root of the problem.

"I'm a merchant's son, I live in a small village close to the coast and I'm visiting a friend of my father's who lives just outside of Corus." The lie flowed smoothly out of Bryant's lips. His answer was vague enough for anyone to say he was lying, but specific enough to satisfy the question. Arianna smiled mischievously at Bryant and he knew she had something up her sleeve for him.

"What friend are you visiting, Will?" She tried to put on an innocent look, but Bryant could see right through it. His mouth smiled at her, but his eyes promised that he'd get back at her for trying to make him slip up and reveal who he really was. 

"Oh, he's not very well known, no one important. I don't believe you would know him." Arianna tried her best not to laugh, she knew she had almost caught him off guard. 

"You'd be surprised who I know, just try me." Arianna didn't think she could hold her laughter in much longer, and she could tell that Jag's curiosity had been sprung. 

Just at that moment the orchestra at the other end of the ballroom struck up a waltz. Jag turned slightly to face Arianna so he could ask her to dance, but Bryant had beaten him to it. Arianna gracefully accepted Bryant's outstretched hand and he led her out to the dance floor.

He pulled Arianna far closer to him than the waltz required, but she really wasn't paying attention.

"What, in the Goddess's name, are you doing here!?" she hissed through clenched teeth into his ear. 

"I'm surprised you didn't wear the necklace," he murmured thoughtfully, ignoring Arianna's question, "it would be something you'd do, especially right after you pinched it off someone." Bryant smirked as he heard her sharp intake of breathe. 

"You knew I had one! You knew! You didn't say anything about it when I handed you the other necklaces." Arianna wanted more than ever to wring his throat and beat him until he all he could do was writhe on the floor in pain. "And I'm not that stupid, Lady Morgan is right over there." Bryant only chuckled and pulled her a little closer. 

"I always know when you're lying. You look beautiful tonight, by the way. If I didn't know any better, I'd say your friend Jag over there is going to explode from jealousy any minute." Bryant whirled her around so that she could get a good look of Jag turning a slight shade of red and attempting not to look over at herself and Bryant every five seconds. 

"That's silly, we're just friends. He knows that. I don't treat him like I do the others." Bryant only grinned again. He knew what kind of affect Arianna could have on men, she had that affect on him sometimes, he was just very good at hiding his thoughts and feelings. Arianna was so frustrated with him by the time the waltz was over that she ripped herself out of his grasp and stormed over to Jag. She placed a passionate kiss on his lips, making sure that Bryant was watching, and then stormed out of the room.

Jag watched her leave and grinned, maybe his attentions did have some affect on "the ice princess". That or she had simply lost her temper over something and was acting rash again. She did that often. Either way, he had received a kiss in public from one of the most beautiful and sought after women at court. 

Bryant watched Arianna kiss Jag, and it took all his self-restraint not to go over and slap the smug look off Jag's face. He couldn't breathe again until he saw her retreating figure leave the room. Goddess, he hated when she did things like that. He hated it even more when he reacted to them the way she wanted him to. He knew what kind of game she was playing, and two could play at that game.

**I know both character seem a little cold and arrogant right now, but give them a chance, you have to consider what kind of life they're living, their backroud, etc…**


	3. Little Devil

**my computer is going to die… I had a lovely chapter with an ending and everything typed up for you guys because the old one got deleted…but it decided to get rid of that too apparently… it really doesn't like this chapter or something… Oh, wait, I'm really stupid…I saved the fixed one in another folder on accident! I'm not blonde, I swear. Ok, this is really the fixed chapter, promise! And sorry… I'm sure it's different from what I had before, I know I had something different, I just can't remember exactly what, it's basically the same though…in response to some reviews: as far as what Kind of skiing I do (someone asked) I do downhill. I race, I've done Super G, GS, and slolam, but my favorite is GS. I'm on my high school ski team, girls won state this year, yeah! Anyway, as for the comment about Arianna being to perfect, thank you! I knew there was something wrong with her and Bryant, I just couldn't place my finger on it. It's not that they're perfect, I can name flaws for each (arrogant, somewhat self-centered, closed off from everyone, a little cold, tempers, bold, Arianna's more of a tom boy and she's slightly spoiled), its just that I've over emphasized their perfections, but I didn't really point out their flaws. I think I'm going to make their flaws stand out a little bit more.** 

Arianna sighed and sunk down further in the water. She had needed a warm bath to relax herself after the scene she had made at the party. She heard the clock chime ten times and sighed. She slowly climbed out of the tub. "Time to have a little fun." Arianna thought to herself with a small smirk on her face. She pulled out a black pair of breeches, a black long sleeve shirt and a pair of black shoes and put them on. As she was pinning her hair up she thought she heard a soft scraping outside her window. She froze and listened harder. 

Arianna continued to pin up her hair after she was satisfied that what ever was outside her window had gone. She walked across the room and blew out a candle, plunging half of the room into darkness and leaving the other half dimly lit. As she made her way over to blow out the candle by her bed, she heard the scraping noise again. She stopped moving in mid-step. She strained her ears trying to hear any noises beyond her window. She turned her head slightly so that she could see the window out of the corner of her eye. She saw a figure slip in and look around. The outline of the intruder was clearly male. As he turned his back on her, Arianna seized the opportunity. She stealthy and quickly made her way over to the figure, pulled out a concealed, and held it up to his throat.  
"Don't move." She hissed into his ear, "Don't even think about moving. Now who are you and what are you doing sneaking into my room."

Suddenly, before she knew what was happening, she found herself pinned down on her bed by the figure. The knife was knock out of her hand and she heard a thump as it hit the floor and skidded across the room. She could feel the weight of the stranger shift as he held both her arms above her head by her wrists in one of his hands. She was starting get a little worried. She could feel the man's breathe on her left cheek, and she could make out the outline of his head and face, but the light wasn't strong enough for her to be able to tell who it was.

"Interesting choice of clothing for sleeping." The familiar voice came from the head hovering above her. He sounded extremely amused by the situation they were both in. 

"Bryant," Arianna said quietly but forcefully, "Get off me right now!" He simply chuckled and shifted his weight so that more of his body was pressed against hers. She gasped softly and tried not to let him see how he was affecting her. Her breathing became somewhat rapid and shallow. He shifted again so that he could hold her arms by the wrists above her head. 

"Did you have fun back there?" he asked, twirling a small tendril of her hair between his finger and thumb. "You like being a little devil, don't you?" He stoked the side of her face with the back of the hand that had been playing with her hair. "You forgot, I am _the_ devil." Suddenly he slid his hand to the small of her back and lifted her up slightly. His lips captured her lips in a savage kiss. Arianna felt like her was attacking her more than romancing her. She almost regretted not kissing him back after he released her lips…almost.

Bryant climbed off her and the bed and stood near by, waiting. Arianna sat up, patted her hair back in place and looked around. She ignored his presence at first, got up off the bed and stretched. Bryant just smirked, he knew that she was just stalling for time while she gained her composure, she was shaken up and he wanted it that way. "Well," she said finally,"That was fun. Shall we go now?" Bryant simply nodded in the direction of the window, indicating her to lead. Arianna blew out the remaining candle in the room and slipped out the window with Bryant following her. 


	4. Darkness

Dislclaimer: I own nothing that is Tamora Pierce's....though one of these days I might just steal it all right out from under her nose! Especially if I don't get a new book of hers to read soon...

THANK YOU, everyone who has reviewed, you don't know how much I appreciate it, reviews are what keep me going and motivate me to write more! So again, Thank you, I can't tell you all enough how much reviews mean to me. Ok, I'll shut up with my babbling now and let you read! Enjoy.

WAIT, one more thing... I forgot to mention, thank you ThePenMage for reviewing, I went and read your story Hidden Thoughts, (Which is very good by the way and I highly suggest everyone check it out too) and your story gave me the idea to write about Arianna's past and about when she first came to Corus. I had writer's block before... so I just thought I'd give you credit =) 

Only their breathing and the slight crunch of their feet hitting the dirt could be heard as Bryant and Arianna made their way through the city. Arianna loved Corus at night. She felt like the city's true nature really came out at night. Sure the city was alive, awake, and busy during the day, but at night anything could happen. The dark made a veil over the city, a cover. It provided protection. At night you could do what you wanted to do, be who you wanted to be, and escape into the night and it's darkness if you need to with no one the wiser. 

Bryant cleared his throat to bring Arianna out of her musings. "Where to now?" he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. She shrugged and continued walking. She wanted to have some fun, though she wasn't quite in the mood for stealing anything. She nodded her head at a near by building indicating that she wanted to go in. Bryant followed her in and looked around. It was a small inn on the opposite side of town from the Dancing Dove. (**Hey, I figure if Corus is the capital then it must be a big city with more than one inn etc.**) He didn't come here often, but apparently Arianna did because as they made their way through the dimly lit room she was greeted by several men and women. 

Arianna smiled and greeted everyone she knew. When one man decided to give her a friendly greeting than she wanted, she pulled a knife out and slid it up to kiss his throat. "Touch me again, sir, and you will wish you hadn't , I promise." She stressed the sir with a mocking tone and smiled overly sweetly at him. The man pulled his arm back and put his hands up. Arianna slid the knife back into the folds of her clothing and continued walking. Bryant glared at the man as he walked past. Arianna shrugged when he shot her a look, she had learned how to handle herself against men like that very quickly after she first came to Corus. Arianna smiled to herself in remembrance as she sat down at a table in a corner of the room...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (**flashback...**)

Arianna sat down on the log by the stream and looked around. This place looked secluded enough. She sighed, took of her slippers that her maid had forced her to wear, and placed her feet in the ice cold water. She pulled out her pen and paper and looked around. It really was a beautiful spot. Arianna just sat there taking in the beauty of the scenery around her before looking down at her paper once more. Slowly she began to draw out the area around her, adding in anything that she felt the landscape was lacking. The end result was a stream surrounded by a lush tropical forest with small fairies peeking out from under plants and skipping across the stream. She held her picture back at arms length to examine it. 

Satisfied she stood up and turned around, only to find her past blocked. She jumped into her father and stumbled back a step.

"So this is where you go when you disappear, eh?" he didn't wait for an answer from Arianna, "I don't know how to handle you. Since the death of your mother, you've been running around with no aim or ambition for your life. It's not good for you. I know the loss of your mother and baby brother was hard on you, but you need to move on. Everyone else has gone. The house is empty. It's not a healthy environment. You're young, and pretty enough. I'm sending you to court with your older brother. He'll help you settle there. You should be able to find a suitable husband that will take in a flightly thing like you." After his quick, gruff speech Arianna's father turned around and made his was back up the path, at the top of the hill, he paused and looked back. "You leave tomorrow morning." Arianna waited until he was out of sight before filling her lungs with as much air as they could handle and then letting out a loud scream. 

She had been wondering how long it would take him to notice that she was still around and wasn't doing anything productive. It had taken him longer than she would have thought. He was the type of man who didn't show much emotion, not even when his wife died, and he liked everyone to be busy and useful. 

"He probably rehearsed that speech before he came down to see me." Arianna picked up a stone and threw it into the water. She grinned when it make a satisfying plunk and splashed water everywhere. "I don't want to be here anymore anyway. That stupid woman he married... and only after three months too!" She picked up her drawing and stormed off. She wanted to spend what little time she had left at her home drawing so she could remember the land she loved....

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bryant waved his hand in front of Arianna's face a few times before she jumped and realized where she was. "I believe" Bryant was obviously amused at her lapse in concentration, "That this lady here wants your drink or food order and that this young man here wishes to speak to you." He pointed at each person in turn to indicate who he was talking about, as if she couldn't tell herself. Arrianna glared at him and continued looking at him as she ordered a glass of wine. After the serving lady was gone she looked at the man. She smiled and indicated for him to sit down at an empty chair next to her. Bryant noticed that he scooted the chair closer to Arianna as he sat down. Bryant was contemplating whether it would be better to punch the guy in the face or stab him in the stomach when Arianna turned towards him. 

"Don't even think about it." She warned him, noticing the familiar glint in his eyes. "He's a friend." Bryant watched the man's hand inch towards Arianna thigh and wondered if friend was the appropriate word. He couldn't decide which was worse, watching this guy grope Arianna or dealing with her anger after he dealt with the guy. He decided he'd just wait until this guy walked outside... in the dark...

**Yes, I will continue the flashback of her past...**S


	5. The Job

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever! My teachers started to load me down with homework, among other things so I didn't really have much time. But here's the next part. I was reading through some stories, and I realized a few people have the same type of story…so I'll try to make it different from the other nobles who are thieves stories… can't promise it will be, but I'll try my hardest. Oh, sorry about the ending on the last chapter…I had to end it quickly and I really didn't like that ending. Oh well, I think I'll leave it for now. Oh, one more thing…I HATE FINALS, especially history essays. I swear my history teacher is the spawn of satan! Ok, back to the story, I only have to finish my finals in my other classes, then I'm out for summer and I can write as much as I want, yay!!! Though I will be leaving for Las Vegas for a bit a few days after school ends. Wow, this is a rather long author's note. Thanx for reading my pointless ramblings, I'll let you get on to the story now. **

Disclaimer: I own nothing (besides my characters that I made up. Those are the ones that you don't read about in her books) Don't sue, I am seriously broke, I have to go get a job so that I can go out on the weekends again. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Arianna looked up at her new home. It seemed to stretch out before her forever. She didn't know if she liked so many buildings and people crowed together so tightly… they looked like the result of two giant hands coming out of now where and smashing everything together. She sighed and tugged at a shoulder length curl. Her father had never let her cut her hair and Arianna hated that, it had always gotten in her way. She had cut it as an act of rebellion. Arianna figured she had nothing to loose, her father was sending her away so he couldn't have any more say over her. He couldn't beat her if she was far away, in Corus. She peered at the cold stone prison that she was being forced to stay in, or at least that's how she saw it. Most saw it as the palace. 

"Miss?" the maid her father had sent to escort her timidly tapped once lightly on her shoulder. "We really should be going, it will be dark soon, and who knows what kind of people wander the streets at night." Arianna rolled her eyes, and continued to take in her surroundings. It would have been better if her father had sent her a pig as an escort. The pig would have been braver and a better conversation companion than this maid. She was glad her father only intended the maid to be an escort for her, and her brother was to hire a more "palace/city oriented" maid while Arianna was staying at the palace… her father meant one who could keep her out of trouble.

She pushed her chopped curls behind her ears and nodded at the maid. Slowly they made their way through the crowded streets. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Arianna jumped slightly when Bryant gently lifter her fingers off the edge of the glass they had been circling. She had absent-mindedly been running her index finger around the edge of her glass while she thought about her past. Bryant had eventually become annoyed with the high-pitched wailing tone her finger on the glass was making. Bryant was also growing more and more annoyed with Arianna's "friend". He was sitting closer to her than a friend was required to and if his hand moved up any further on her leg, Bryant would be forced to use the knife he was holding.

Arianna didn't seem to be helping the situation any. She sat angled toward him with her head leaning slightly in and whispering intimately with him. She seemed to be listening intently to what he was saying, but every once in a while she would glance and Bryant and flash him a mischievous smile. She had that familiar glint in her eye; she was up to something, Bryant knew it. 

Arianna nodded once more then sat up straight. She looked Bryant square in the eyes. "Kaelin here has a possible job for us…well more for me, but I think I'll need your help." Bryant nodded at her to continue. "A shipment just came in last night, on a small, inconspicuous merchant's boat. We're not sure to whom. However, we do know that three crates in the ship went to the palace, heavily guarded the entire way. We need to figure out who those crates went to, what was in those crates, and if it's worth stealing." 

"And you need my help because neither of you know where to start and I can easily get in and out of the palace." Arianna wanted to slap that smug smirk off his face, but she wanted to pull of this job more. She knew he was essential in pulling off a job like this, they had done things like this before together. "When's the next ball?"

"A week from tomorrow night." Arianna replied after a moment of thought "Lady Sadina is having a ball to celebrate her oldest daughter's engagement and to try to find a suitor for her youngest daughter. Nothing terribly large, but big enough for most of the current residents at the palace to be there." Bryant pushed his chair out and stood up.

"We better start now then." He walked out of the door, with Arianna quickly following behind him.

**Again, sorry I haven't updated in so long and sorry its so short, I promise I'll update more regularly now and I'll make the chapters longer, I just wanted to get started again. And I know this seems like every other thief-is-a-noble story, but I promise I'll try to make it a little different… try as hard as I can.**


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